The plight of Canadian medical school grads

“Each year, a growing number of students do not get matched, putting the hundreds of thousands of dollars that provincial governments invest in educating and training future doctors at risk.”

After he was passed over twice for a medical residency program, after he quizzed university officials and career counsellors about the reasons for his rejection, after exploring his legal options and shortly before ending his life, Robert Chu wrote a letter.

It was precise, but penned with passion. It showed the persistence the 25-year-old medical school graduate had demonstrated throughout his accomplished life.

But he also expressed his despair at what he believed is a flawed system used to match medical school graduates to residency programs — the final, obligatory stage in a doctor’s training.